Hope for the Future
by lucyjane423
Summary: His fiance left. The world ended a few days later. What happens when a chance encounter in the woods surrounding the prison results in a reunion? Can their love be salvaged? Or has this world caused both of them to change too much? [Takes place in between seasons three and four, AU. Daryl x OC.]
1. Prologue

**Hope for the Future**

Before the fall, Daryl was happy… well, happi **er** than he appeared to those who knew him in the days after. But a fight with his fiancé the week before everything happened ended with her leaving for her parents' place for a few days, and then it was too late. So what happens when a chance encounter in the woods surrounding the prison results in a reunion? Can their love be salvaged? Or has this world caused both of them to change too much? [Takes place in between seasons three and four, AU. Daryl x OC.]

* * *

 **Hope for the Future**

 _Some hope for the future; some wait for the call  
To say that the days ahead will be the best of all_

 _We will build bridges up to the sky, heavenly lights surrounding you and I_

 _From out of the darkness, our future will come_  
 _If we leave the past behind, we'll fly beyond the sun_

 _We'll be together, sharing the load, watching in wonder as our lives unfold_

 _Hope for the future – it's coming soon enough_  
 _How much can we achieve?_  
 _Hope for the future – it will belong to us_  
 _If we believe..._

 _Hope shines brightest in the dark, when nothing's ever seen  
Lighting undiscovered places no one's ever been_

\- Paul McCartney

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

 _ **MAY 2010 – ONE WEEK BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD**_

"I can't do this anymore, Daryl," Alison said softly, defeated. She leaned against the kitchen counter, facing her fiancée but not looking at him, keeping her gaze to her feet instead. They'd been arguing for the last two hours about Daryl's miscreant of a brother, Merle, who had come back to their trailer, yet again, at four in the morning with a couple of prostitutes in tow. This had been the norm for a month, ever since Merle was released early from prison and into Daryl's custody. Alison had been against the arrangement from the start, but there really was nowhere else for Merle to go, and he had promised he would do better.

So much for promises.

"What… what's that 'posed to mean?" Daryl asked, stepping toward her and standing in front of her. Alison said nothing. She just shook her head and focused her gaze on her hands, where she was slowly twirling her engagement ring around on her finger. "Allie… talk to me."

Alison sighed.

"I can't…" She shook her head, took a breath, and tried again, this time lifting her head to look at him and silently willed herself not to cry. He hated to see her cry. "I know he's your brother, Daryl, but I can't live like this anymore. He's been livin' with us for a month and not a damn thing has changed. He's right back to doin' what he got thrown in prison for in the first place." Daryl just stared at her, so she continued. "This house – _our house_ – is a wreck. I said yes to marryin' _you,_ Daryl. Not you and your damn brother."

Anger flashed through Daryl's eyes, and he narrowed them as he spoke.

"He's my only family, Allie. Where the hell else is he 'posed to go?"

"What about me, Daryl?"

"What about you?"

"I thought I was your family."

"You… God, Allie, you _are,_ but so's he!" Alison scoffed and pushed herself off the counter, walking past Daryl into the bedroom. He followed close behind her and continued. "I can't let him go back to prison!"

"Why the hell not? He's safer there than he is here. At least they'll keep him out of the bars and off of drugs!"

"You don't get it, Allie."

"I guess I don't, Daryl. I guess I don't." Alison sighed and walked over to the closet, pulling out a duffle bag. She carried it over to the dresser, opened a drawer, and started putting clothes into the bag.

"What are you doin', Al?" Daryl asked, watching her. She didn't answer. She just finished her task, walking past him into the small bathroom to start putting toiletries into the bag as well. "Damn it, Allie, _talk to me._ "

"I was talkin'. You weren't listenin'." Alison closed the medicine cabinet and walked into the living room towards the hook where her keys and purse were.

"Alison." Daryl sounded so sad, so… _defeated_ , when he said her name. "Please don't leave me." Alison sighed and turned around, blinking back tears.

"I'm not leavin' you, Daryl. I don't think I ever could leave you."

"Then where… where are you goin'?"

"To my parents'. Just for a couple of days. I need some space… some time to think."

"All the way to Atlanta? By yourself?"

"By myself? Please, I grew up there. I think I can handle the city for a few days, Daryl. I'll…call you when I get there."

"What's there to think about?"

"Everything." Alison sighed again and lifted the bag over her shoulder. "And I hope you do some thinkin' of your own while I'm gone." She turned and started for the door. Daryl's hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks, and she turned around again.

"Please don't go," Daryl whispered. He took a step toward her, close enough that they were almost touching. "Please."

"It's only for a few days, Daryl," she whispered back. A lone, traitorous tear tracked its way down her cheek. Daryl reached up and softly wiped it away. "I'll come back."

"What if you don't?"

Alison smiled, sadly, and leaned up to kiss Daryl softly on the lips. She lingered there for a moment before pulling away, keeping her eyes closed as she did.

"I'll always come back to you," she whispered.

And then she was gone.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

 _ **PRESENT DAY, PRISON**_

" _I'll always come back to you…"_

Daryl Dixon woke with a start from his recurring dream-turned-nightmare, sweaty and short of breath. Groaning, he stared up at the bunk above him, scrubbing his hand over his face as he came back to reality and to the reality of where he was.

The irony of being holed up in a prison somewhere was not lost on him, considering.

"Day two million of the apocalypse. I ain't seen her in..." _Months? Years?_ "Damn you, Alison Stevens. I need to get you outta my head," Daryl grumbled under his breath. He'd been dreaming of her more frequently than before, and as nice as it was to see her face, the last memory he actually had was of her turning her back on him and walking out the door. "Damn it," he said, louder this time, groaning again as he sat up.

"You alright, Daryl?" Rick Grimes' voice came from the doorway. Daryl looked up to see his friend leaning against the doorframe, staring at him. He looked concerned.

"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, cracking his back before standing up. Rick said nothing. He just continued to stare. "What?"

"Nothin'."

"Why're you starin' at me like that?"

"It's nothin', Daryl, Jesus." Rick shook his head. "Just checkin' on you, is all."

"Don't need no one to check on me, 'm fine," Daryl replied, indignant. "You need somethin'?"

"Just wanted to see if you were comin' on this run with us today, but now I'm thinkin' maybe you should stay here. Get some rest."

"Don't need no rest, neither." Daryl started for the doorway, but stopped when he reached Rick, who wouldn't budge. "Come on, Rick. Move."

"What's goin' on with you, Daryl?" Rick crossed his arms, indicating he wasn't planning on moving anytime soon.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about, Rick."

"Naw… somethin's off. You ain't been yourself lately."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You're more surly than normal. Talkin' to yourself a lot. About someone named Allie."

Daryl's eyes widened at Rick's mention of her name, then quickly narrowed as he scowled at his friend.

"Ain't surly," he said. Rick chuckled, but continued to stand in the doorway and stare at him. "What?"

"Who's Allie?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

"Maybe you should."

"Don't you have a run to go on?"

"It can wait. It's still early." Daryl glared at Rick, who only stared back at him with a slight smirk on his face. "You ain't gonna win this one, Daryl. Who's Allie?"

"It don't matter who she is. Was. It don't matter!"

"It might… maybe if you talk about her, you'll stop dreaming about her."

 _Huh. Rick knows more than he lets on…_ Daryl stared at Rick for a beat, and then sighed.

"I don't know if I want to stop dreaming about her," he said lowly. "Besides, it don't matter. Not like 'm ever gonna see her again."

"It obviously does matter, Daryl. Talk to me." A pause, then, "It won't leave this room."

"Don't care if it does leave this room… if I tell you, will you get the hell outta my way?"

"Yup."

"Fine."

Taking a seat back on his bunk, Daryl sighed again and scrubbed his hands over his face, motioning for Rick to take a seat at the small desk across from him. To his surprise, Rick sat down, and for a moment Daryl considered bolting from the room. He didn't, though, and instead starting telling Rick about the only woman he'd ever loved.

They'd met, as people often do, at a dive bar on the outskirts of Atlanta three years before the end of the world. Her name was Alison, but her friends called her Allie. She was short, about 5'4" or 5'5", thin and curvy, with long red hair and bright green eyes. Just to look at her, one might have thought she was quiet and demure, but that image was shattered as soon as she opened her mouth. Allie was a firecracker, sharp and witty – all characteristics that worked out well for her, since she was the bartender at the dive bar where they'd met.

The first night he spoke to her was not the first night he'd seen her; he'd noticed her weeks before but had always been too shy to talk to her. He didn't think he was her type – the guys that swarmed around her at the bar were all the same: preppy college idiots, with their collared shirts and their cargo shorts. And Merle, of course, but Merle hit on anything with a pulse. Merle had started in hardcore on Allie once he'd realized that Daryl liked her… which is how Daryl and Allie started talking.

Their romance was quick and intense after that. Allie moved in with Daryl after six months of dating, and he'd proposed to her four months after that, with a vintage ring that had been his mother's. The band was silver, thin and delicate, with two small diamonds flanking a large emerald. It reminded him of her eyes.

They lived together for two years and never set a date, with her always telling him she didn't need a piece of paper to feel married to him and him being fine with it. It was close to their third anniversary when Merle really got in trouble with the law, and ended up getting released early on good behavior into Daryl's custody. And that was when the trouble started.

When Daryl got to this part in his story, he stopped, sighed, and closed his eyes for a brief second.

"Her parents lived in Atlanta, and I guess she had talked to them before decidin' to up and leave," he told Rick. "She was only 'posed to be gone a week, but… this whole thing started on the second day. I talked to her on the phone, and she tried to get me to come to her, but the phone lines all went down in the middle of me talkin' to her."

Rick had been staring at him with rapt attention the entire time he spoke.

"And?" Rick asked.

"And… nothin'. That's it. Last thing I heard from her was her cryin' and sayin' she was sorry and that she loved me… and I said it back, but it was too late."

"So is that why you and Merle ended up in Atlanta? And how you met up with Dale and them?"

Daryl nodded. "Pretty much. But by the time we got to Atlanta, the entire city'd been overrun. I went to her parents' house but there was no sign of anyone." He shrugged. "I can only hope she got out… but eventually I had to stop lookin' for her. Too many roadblocks."

"She may still be out there, Daryl."

"Yeah…" Daryl scoffed and shook his head. "Anyway, that's it." The two of them sat silently for a few minutes, and then Rick stood up.

"Thanks for sharin' that with me."

"Did I have much of a choice?"

"Not really," Rick smirked. "But I'd better get goin'. Glenn and Michonne are waitin' for me."

"You need me to come?"

"Naw. You stay here. Rest, like I said. I'll keep my eye out for anything… or any _one_ of any interest," Rick told him with a wink. Then he left.

Daryl sighed and laid back down on his bunk after a minute, closing his eyes. _As if I needed him to keep my hopes up that she's out there,_ Daryl thought to himself. _Fuckin' asshole._ He sighed one more time and allowed himself to relax into the hard mattress, eventually succumbing to sleep once more. The last thing he saw before going all the way under was a blur, a vision of fiery red and bright green.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

 _ **PRESENT DAY, THE WOODS OUTSIDE THE PRISON**_

"Ow! Fuck." Alison cursed as she tried to pull the bolt from the walker's head, failed, and cut herself as she lost her grip. "You son of a bitch." Instead of continuing to struggle, she gave up, kicking the walker one time in the side for good measure before moving on.

She'd lost track of time since she ended up on her own… She was sure it'd been at least a year, though it felt longer, and she wasn't sure why, exactly, she was still alive. Alison stopped for a moment to sling her crossbow around so that it rested against her back. She sighed, closing her eyes as the memory of the day she got the crossbow flashed through her mind.

* * *

 _It was a warm spring afternoon, about a month before everything went to hell, and Alison was begrudgingly following Daryl through the woods while he taught her to hunt. Hunting wasn't something she particularly enjoyed doing (she hated it, in fact), but Daryl was adamant that it was an important skill. He'd bought her a crossbow, similar to the one he had, only smaller. She'd laughed and finally consented to the hunting lessons, only because he had been so cute when he got home and gave it to her._

" _When am I ever going to have to use a crossbow?" Alison asked him, clumsily trying to slip the weapon over her shoulder and tripping over her own feet in the process. "Oof."_

" _Ya never know," he told her, laughing as he caught her arm and kept her from falling flat on her face. "The world could end." Daryl smiled and brushed Alison's hair out of her face. "I may not always be here…you should know how to fend for yourself."_

" _I'm gonna end up shooting myself in the foot."_

" _Yeah, probably," he agreed with her, nodding. Alison playfully smacked Daryl on the arm, and he laughed. "And I'll be there to kiss it all better, 'course."_

" _You'd better," she told him. Daryl just grinned and motioned for Alison to follow him, and they walked until they found a large clearing surrounded by a couple of trees._

* * *

Alison's memory was cut short by the sound of shuffling in the leaves behind her. She sighed, reaching for her crossbow and a bolt, preparing herself for whatever might be coming her way as she turned around. She didn't see anything yet, but she recognized the sound of the dead shuffling towards her. She turned around, looked over both shoulders and saw a few coming at her from each side.

"Shit." Alison knew she was too tired to try and fight them all, and as tired as she was of having to survive on her own in this new world, she wasn't quite that willing to succumb to it just yet. Quickly taking in her surroundings, she decided on climbing the tree that was closest to her and waiting out the herd. She swung her crossbow and her small bag of gear over her shoulder and hoisted herself as high up in the tree as she could.

The herd was a lot larger than she originally thought, so she made herself comfortable and prepared to settle in for a few hours. It was kind of nice to be able to relax for a bit.

She woke up a couple of hours later, startled from her nap and disoriented. After she gathered her bearings, she chanced a look at the ground and was relieved to see that the herd had dispersed. Looking up at the sky, she reasoned that it was probably close to dusk, and if she wanted to find food and make camp, she'd better do it quickly. She sighed, yawned, and then climbed carefully down from the tree.

Alison started back in the direction she had originally been heading. She had only been walking a few minutes when she heard more leaves crinkling behind her.

"You've got to be kidding me," she grumbled under her breath, reaching for her crossbow and ducking behind a tree. Peering out from her hiding space, she watched carefully, looking for any sign of a straggler or two. It got eerily quiet, and then she heard crinkling leaves again. The odd thing was that the footsteps didn't sound like those of a walker; they sounded like those of someone who was alive, perhaps someone who was carefully making their own way through the woods in search of food or shelter.

Or something else, something sinister.

Alison didn't want to think about it. Instead, she waited until the lone figure came into view, and then stepped out from her hiding space to fire a warning shot with her crossbow. The arrow hit the tree next to the other person's head.

"What the fuck?" the other person, a male, cursed. Alison managed to slip back behind her tree just in time as another arrow came flying towards her, embedding itself in the tree.

 _What the fuck?_ _That's odd._

* * *

 _ **BACK AT THE PRISON…**_

Daryl woke from his nap with a start, suddenly feeling very overheated and claustrophobic. Standing up, he grabbed his gear and headed out into the common area. Beth was the only one out there, sitting at the table with Judith.

"Where you goin', Daryl?" she asked him, watching him storm past.

"Out," was all he said as he headed outside and into the yard.

Daryl decided that he needed to go for a walk in the woods to clear his head, but told Carol and Maggie that he was going out to secure the perimeter and find some food. It wasn't a total lie; he could do both.

As soon as he was outside the gates of the prison, he felt like he could breathe and finally start to clear his head of his thoughts of Alison and the way they left things. He noticed by the tracks on the forest floor that a large herd had just come through, and he realized that it was going to be a little more difficult to find food than he had initially hoped.

He was making a turn and maneuvering around a tree when, out of nowhere, an arrow very similar to the ones he carried flew towards him and embedded itself in the tree next to his head.

"What the fuck?" he cursed, acting on instinct and shooting one of his own arrows in return. Narrowing his eyes, he started to walk slowly in the direction the first arrow came from, raising his crossbow in front of him in preparation for a fight.

"Drop it!"

Daryl stopped, startled to hear a female voice yelling at him from about fifty feet away. The voice sounded vaguely familiar. Into his line of sight a figure appeared, moving towards him with a crossbow raised in his direction.

" _You_ drop it!" he yelled back, slowly starting to move again towards his would-be assailant.

"You first!" the woman responded, coming closer. As they moved towards each other, he could see her better. She _looked_ familiar.

"This ain't gonna end well for ya, girl," he warned her, inching his way closer, peering at her over his crossbow. He heard her gasp, and her steps faltered. She didn't stop moving, though, and Daryl scoffed. _Stubborn,_ he thought. "Come on now, I don't wanna hurt ya. Put down the weapon."

"You first," she repeated, coming to a stop about ten feet in front of him, her crossbow still raised. It was only then he was able to really get a look at her, and when he really _saw_ her, he couldn't believe what he was looking at. Slowly, he lowered his crossbow, let it drop to the ground, and stared.

She looked almost exactly the same, only thinner. She looked older too, somehow, like the realities of dealing with this new world had taken their toll. Her red hair was frizzy, pinned back into a bun on top of her head, and her green eyes, once bright with youth and life, were dulled. He was only about 99% sure it was her until he looked at her left hand… and saw his mother's ring.

"Allie?" Daryl's voice cracked when he said her name. He watched as she jumped, startled, and then slowly lowered her weapon. She stared at him and he could tell when something registered with her; she blinked rapidly, gasped, and dropped her crossbow to the ground. Daryl took another step toward her. "Allie."

"No," she said, shaking her head slowly. "No, it can't be. It can't be you."

"It is me," he said. "It's me." He stepped toward her again, moving slowly, as if he were approaching a stray animal.

Alison couldn't form words; all she could do was stare at him as he moved towards her. Finally, he was standing in front of her, reaching out for her but not touching her, not yet. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before she spoke. "Is it really you? Are you here?" she whispered.

"I'm here," he said.

Alison stared at him for another moment, smiled and sighed deeply. And then she fainted.


	4. Chapter 3, Part One

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating! Life happened... which isn't much of an excuse, I know. Chapter Three will be in two parts, just because I have a lot of information I want to pack into it without having it be super long on one page. So here's part one - part two will be uploaded as soon as I'm finished with it, in the next day or so. Thanks so much for reading! :)_

* * *

 **CHAPTER THREE – PART ONE**

When she came to moments later, Allison was acutely aware of the fact that she'd fainted, and that she was still in the woods somewhere. She was also very aware of the fact that she wasn't alone. Whether or not she'd _actually_ seen or spoken to Daryl remained to be seen, because in her mind there was no way for that to have been possible.

Allison's breathing started to regulate as she lie there on the ground, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to focus on the sounds of the woods around her. She could feel the presence of someone hovering above her, could hear him breathing. After a minute, she felt a light touch on her arm, startling her.

"Allie?"

 _It sure sounds like Daryl,_ she thought, keeping her eyes closed and saying nothing. The hand on her arm moved, touching her shoulder this time and giving it a light shake.

"Allie. Come on."

 _No,_ she thought, _it's not possible. But could it be?_ Allison swallowed, but remained unmoving. The hand on her shoulder moved again, this time cupping her cheek.

"Allison, knock that shit off. I know you're awake," the voice said, sounding slightly exasperated. "You was never _that_ good of an actress." At that, Allison's eyes popped open and widened as they focused on the face that was hovering just above her own.

"Daryl?" Her voice came out in a harsh whisper, days of being dehydrated and exhausted finally catching up to her. Daryl's face relaxed slightly into a concerned smile, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as they met hers. Allison blinked and slowly shook her head. "But… how?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Al," he told her. "We can talk about it later. The important thing is we're both here."

"I just don't believe it," she sighed.

"I know." Daryl paused, removing his hand from her face and reaching for her hands instead as he stood up. "Think you can stand?"

"No."

"Well. Try," he told her, carefully helping her up from the ground. She stumbled on her feet and fell right into his arms, but he steadied her. "Easy, now." His grip on her upper arms was firm, holding her upright until she could do it on her own. "You alright?"

"I'm dizzy," she admitted, "but I'll be okay." Daryl stared at her, concerned, and very reluctantly released her from his grip. Part of him was afraid she was going to run. She didn't, though, and returned his stare with one of her own. "What?"

"What?"

"Why're you starin' like that?"

"I dunno. Waiting for this to turn into some fever dream and you to turn into a walker."

"A walker?"

"Why, what do you call 'em?"

"I have lots of names for 'em. But… I know what you mean. I'm afraid you're not real."

"Yeah." Clearly a little uncomfortable, Daryl glanced at the ground and kicked at it for a second before speaking again. "You got a camp around here or somethin'?"

"Nope. I'm all alone. What about you?"

"Yeah," he told her, pointing in the direction of the prison. "There's about ten of us, stayin' in the prison."

"You're kidding."

"I'm not. Come back with me."

"Daryl, I…"

"You what?"

"I've been on my own since this entire thing started. I'm clumsy and weak and I won't do you or your group any good."

"Bullshit. If you think I'm gonna let you just go off after I just _found_ you again…"

"Come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me."

"Allie… no. No. Come back with me."

"I…"

"You…" Daryl stared at her, waiting for an answer that made sense to come out of her mouth. She sighed, reluctant to get into why she was apprehensive to join an already-established group. When she couldn't come up with a reason (though she knew that no reason would be good enough for Daryl), she sighed again.

"Fine. I'll go back with you."

"You will?"

"I just said I would, didn't I?" she snapped. Daryl grinned, bending down to pick up her crossbow and the bag of gear she'd dropped. He handed it to her and helped her slip the crossbow over her shoulders.

"Can you walk?" In response, Allison rolled her eyes and took a step forward, tripping over her own feet and falling backwards against the tree she'd napped in earlier. Stifling a laugh, Daryl cleared his throat. "Alright. I'll piggyback you." That received an incredulous stare from Allison. "It's not that far," he told her, swinging his own crossbow around to his front and then turning around, kneeling so she could climb onto his back. "Come on."

Sighing, Allison took a couple of steps forward and climbed on, latching on with a death grip around his shoulders. When he stood up, Daryl was shocked at how light she was, and felt sad that she'd had to be on her own for so long.

Neither of them spoke very much as Daryl walked them towards the prison, mostly because she couldn't think of anything _to_ say and he was trying to concentrate on getting them back before dark. When they reached the edge of the woods, he stopped and let her slide down to her feet, steadying her until she got her footing. She didn't question him, just held onto his arm with a loose grip as they walked so as not to fall flat onto her face.

"So, you're gonna have to talk to Rick," he told her.

"Rick? That your leader?"

"Yeah, sort've. He… he more or less approves who can stay with us and who can't."

"And if he says I can't stay?" Daryl stopped and whirled around, standing in front of her and making sure he was able to look her in the eyes.

"I ain't gonna let that happen," he said. "If he says you can't stay, me and you – we'll leave."

"I'm confused. I asked you to come with me earlier, and you said no, and – "

"It's… different, Allie."

Allison sighed, angry and upset and too tired to do much about anything. She'd already come this far.

"You know what? I'm too tired to argue with you, or to try and figure out what the fuck you're even talkin' about. So just take me to your leader and let's see what he says, alright?"

Daryl nodded in response and started back in the direction of the gate, checking back every so often to make sure she was still behind him.


End file.
